Pakistan frees Mumbai attack ‘mastermind’

Islamabad, Pakistan — Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) founder, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attack, has been set free by a Pakistani court, his spokesperson has said.

Indian authorities suspect Saeed to be the mastermind of the deadly Mumbai attacks. He is likely to be freed by today.

Saeed, a United Nations designated “terrorist” whom the United States has placed a $10 million bounty on, had been placed under house arrest in the eastern city of Lahore in January by the provincial government, under anti-terrorism laws.

Despite sanctions, Pakistan’s ‘terrorists’ thrive.

Yesterday, a judicial review body of the Lahore High Court rejected a government request to renew his detention for a further 90 days, his spokesman Nadeem Awan told Al Jazeera.

“When the government was not able to present any evidence to justify [Saeed’s] continued detention, the court ordered his release when his current detention order expires [on Thursday],” said Awan.

Four of Saeed’s JuD colleagues – Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz – were released last month when a similar review board deemed the government’s evidence for their continued detention to be insufficient.— Al Jazeera.